Disagreement over Kansas Judge’s Decision to Dismiss Open Carry Lawsuit

A Johnson County judge last week dismissed lawsuits that argued that the Kansas Communities of Leawood and Prairie Village are violating citizens’ rights by banning the open carry of firearms. Last year the Kansas attorney general issued a legal opinion that said cities cannot ban open carry. In December, the Libertarian Party of Kansas sued Leawood, Prairie Village and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kan., seeking injunctions to prevent them from enforcing their bans.

The following statement is from The Libertarian Party of Kansas on the decision to dismiss the open carry lawsuit:

We strongly disagrees with the Honorable David W. Hauber’s decision to dismiss our open-carry lawsuit against the municipalities of Leawood and Prairie Village. Obviously, we are disappointed, but our resolve has not wavered. It is a shame that these cities have been able to abuse their power to this degree. We will continue to move on this issue until the abridgment of Kansans’ civil rights to open-carry firearms has ended.

We have yet to fully examine our options moving forward on the case. These options may include an appeal or a new filing on behalf of one or more individuals who have come forward, since our case began, to tell us of how they have been directly injured by these ordinances.

We also renew our call for Attorney General Schmidt to take on this issue, support his Opinions with action, and defend the Constitution of this great State.

Our fight for justice has clearly exposed Leawood and Prairie Village as defiantly denying their citizens’ legal, Second Amendment rights in the face of clear State law. The cities engaging in this blatant disregard for the law have admitted publically and privately that they are violating the law with their ordinances, but they continue to refuse to remedy this activity. They WILL NOT change without someone standing up for what is right, fair, and legal.

Libertarians and freedom loving people in Kansas will not let this stand. The LPKS will not stop pressing until Kansans are allowed to exercise their clear, constitutional rights.